WHY YOUR BRAIN LIKES TO THINK STUFF IS TRUEWe form beliefs in a haphazard way, believing all sorts of things based just on what we hear out in the world but haven’t researched for ourselves.

This is how we think we form abstract beliefs:

We hear something;We think about it and vet it, determining whether it is true or false; only after thatWe form our belief.It turns out, though, that we actually form abstract beliefs this way:

We hear something;We believe it to be true;Only sometimes, later, if we have the time or the inclination, we think about it and vet it, determining whether it is, in fact, true or false.Back in 1991, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert summarized centuries of research on belief formation this way: “People are credulous creatures who find it very easy to believe and very difficult to doubt. In fact, believing is so easy, and perhaps so inevitable, that it may be more like involuntary comprehension than it is like rational assessment.”

David Hain's insight:

Looks like we need to spend more time questioning our beliefs in light of new information, instead of fitting the new information into our previous world view.

Our limits are rarely what we think they are. And seldom what others tell us they are.

Alden Mills is my guest on the Disrupt Yourself Podcast, a former Navy SEAL, champion rower, inventor of The Perfect Pushup and Founder of Perfect Fitness. As a serial entrepreneur, he’s since founded a second company, Fetch Fuel Pet Food, moved his family to Spain and written a book: Be Unstoppable: The Eight Essential Actions to Succeed at Anything.

Alden knows about the subjectivity of limitation; he was only 12 when a doctor told him that his asthma was going to keep him from doing, well, pretty much everything.

David Hain's insight:

When someone tells you your goal is impossible, that doesn't need to be the end of the story!

What does rebellion really mean? If it means anything, it means scorning the false idea that the past must ever be like the future, because that is what the fates and furies and gods ordain, and we, miserable mortals, are limited by blood and tribe to death and dust. History’s great teaching is precisely that none of that has ever been true: there is a thing called the future, in which progress has stumbled onwards, but creating it is the most difficult work of all, because it is elusive, made of things we cannot touch or even see: human possibility.So: we need more, better rebellion. We must learn how not to give up precisely. It isn’t enough, what we’re doing now. We are not learning from history what it means to have genuinely big, disruptive, transformative ideas. Such ideas are life-giving, not merely convenience-dispensing. Yet we have shrunk our expectations so low that such ideas mean a tighter window to deliver designer food now. Our vision is so narrow and cloudy now that life-giving, challenging ideas have come somehow mean drone-tacos instead of healthcare for sick little babies. What a pity. We have forgotten the sweep of human history, such ideas are only ever little, forgotten ones. Do you remember who sold designer lunches a century ago, or how? Nobody does. This broken age demands much more rebellion than we are giving it.

With a new generation poised to enter the workforce, organizations are simultaneously forced to combat two converging trends. First, Generation Z (Gen Z), consisting of those born after 1995, is entering the workforce. While Gen Z is anticipated to bring an unprecedented level of technology skills to the workforce, they also express apprehensions about their interpersonal communication skills. Throughout the article we will be following a prototypical Gen Z member, Emily, to illustrate the shifting experiences and expectations Gen Z brings to the workplace. (See sidebar: Meet Emily, a prototypical Generation Z member).

Second, emerging technologies, particularly automation, are expected to further disrupt the nature of the entry-level roles that this generation is poised to fill. Complicating this dynamic is the ambiguity surrounding this technical shift, in addition to the inherent uncertainty involved in predicting how today’s teenagers will behave in 10 years.

Given these new realities, this article explores how organizations can redesign entry-level jobs in a way that can both attract and engage Gen Z, while ensuring that the entry-level job continues to serve as the necessary training ground for incoming professionals. This will be essential for organizations seeking to generate a pipeline of future talent to help meet the organization’s evolving needs.

David Hain's insight:

What do organisations need to do today to integrate Generation Z (born after 1995) effectively? A fair bit, suggests Deloitte....

Although breakthroughs have been made in explaining why people think and behave as they do, these insights have in general been applied to business only piecemeal and haven’t had a widespread effect. Recently, however, several companies have found that linking all of the major discoveries together in programs to improve performance has brought about startling changes in the behavior of employees—changes rooted in new mind-sets. Performance-improvement programs that apply all of these ideas in combination can be just as chaotic and hard to lead as those that don’t. But they have a stronger chance of effecting long-term changes in business practice and thus of sustaining better outcomes.

Consider, it urges the reader, how leaders can ever know the motivations, efficiencies, skills and personalities of a large staff? If they had quick and easy insight into such things (i.e. their strengths and weaknesses), teams could be quickly assembled, workspaces, money and projects allocated to the correct configurations.

David Hain's insight:

Don't be overly modest and self-effacing. First, know your strengths, second share them with those who need to know!

When you expect to see something, you are more likely to notice it. The reticular activating system in our brains causes us to notice the things we expect to see, and not notice things we are not looking for.And seeing is believing! Literally. Research shows that when we see something, we are likely to believe it.If your attention is focused on negative images, you’re more likely to see and believe them.If your attention is focused on positive images, you’re more likely to see and believe them.What you see shapes the reality you experience.The problem is it’s not so easy to see positive images. On a daily basis we are bombarded with images of war and destruction in movies, on television and even in electronic games that children play. In contrast, there are few images of what world peace looks like.

David Hain's insight:

Focusing on positives is hard much of the time, but not doing so is such a pernicious habit! Good reminder from @jesselynnstoner!

It seems a reader can barely go a week without seeing at least one news headline about how Millennials are "killing" some industry or product. Generation Y is purportedly wiping out casual dining, golf, diamonds, homeownership, and bars of soap, among other consumer products; news items have also characterized the generation as lazy, vain, and always looking for a handout.

According to Philadelphia-based writer (and Pacific Standard contributor) Malcolm Harris, this hand-wringing disdain toward Millennials unfairly ignores the material conditions that created the generation. In his new book, Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials, Harris argues that Millennials have set themselves up for success (Harris' book notes that Millennials are the most educated generation) with very little payoff. Millennials carry most of the burden of the nation's $1.4 trillion student-loan debt crisis; their unemployment rate is more than double the national average; they earn 20 percent less than Generation X; and Millennial employees face a higher level of depression than any other generation. Negative stereotypes, Harris argues, point to the economic and sociological forces that have shaped Millennials, not characteristics endemic to the generation itself.

David Hain's insight:

Don't blame the Millennials! We've given them a bad deal as well as a bad rap!

Scientists at the Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute are working on a computer system that can read body language right down to the position of fingers. The new process works in real time and opens the door to a more natural way for people and machines to interact.

David Hain's insight:

Will computers and humans learn to get along like people do? well, the computers are getting in the practice!

To understand the importance of emotional self-control, it helps to know what’s going on in our brain when we’re not in control. In my book, The Brain and Emotional Intelligence, I explained:

“The amygdala is the brain’s radar for threat. Our brain was designed as a tool for survival. In the brain’s blueprint the amygdala holds a privileged position. If the amygdala detects a threat, in an instant it can take over the rest of the brain—particularly the prefrontal cortex—and we have what’s called an amygdala hijack.

… the amygdala often makes mistakes…. while the amygdala gets its data on what we see and hear in a single neuron from the eye and ear—that’s super-fast in brain time—it only receives a small fraction of the signals those senses receive. The vast majority goes to other parts of the brain that take longer to analyze these inputs—and get a more accurate reading. The amygdala, in contrast, gets a sloppy picture and has to react instantly. It often makes mistakes, particularly in modern life, where the ‘dangers’ are symbolic, not physical threats. So, we overreact in ways we often regret later.”

David Hain's insight:

Emotions are hard-wired within us all. Emotional control is learned behaviour. Uncontrolled emotion is usually disastrous!

Today the world has about 7.6 billion inhabitants. Most demographers believe that by about 2050, that number will reach 10 billion or a bit less. Around this time, our population will probably begin to level off. As a species, we will be at about “replacement level”: On average, each couple will have just enough children to replace themselves. All the while, economists say, the world’s development should continue, however unevenly. The implication is that when my daughter is my age, a sizable percentage of the world’s 10 billion people will be middle-class.

Affluence is not our greatest achievement but our biggest problem.Like other parents, I want my children to be comfortable in their adult lives. But in the hospital parking lot, this suddenly seemed unlikely. Ten billion mouths, I thought. Three billion more middle-class appetites. How can they possibly be satisfied? But that is only part of the question. The full question is: How can we provide for everyone without making the planet uninhabitable?

David Hain's insight:

A big question for my children and their children. It starts now, and it starts where we are! How can we live more sustainably?

Academic Rigor Without BarriersThe same expert-written content and editorial review you expect from academic publishers, but without the paywalls and copyright restrictions. Finally, high quality academic writing you can read and share freely.

David Hain's insight:

For those interested in the science of well being, this seems to be an excellent free source of academic psychology research.

Supporting Kids to Thrive: Are Kids Thriving Equally?Six Seconds gathered this data by having kids age 7 to 18, all over the world, take the youth version of the SEI, the world’s leading emotional intelligence assessment. The good news is that youth wellbeing is on the rise: from 2015 to 2017, we saw a 4% increase in youth wellbeing scores. The bad news is that, on average, wellbeing scores seem to drop as kids enter their teenage years. Check out this graph of youth wellbeing scores, broken up into 3 age groups.

The particular challenges for teenagers are something that many of our Six Seconds team members have noticed in schools and in their own homes. Freedman says that “the level of anxiety and stress for teenagers is a pandemic, all over the world.” Why would teenagers be struggling more?

David Hain's insight:

As kids get older, their wellbeing seems to decrease. We need to act at numerous levels on this increasingly common research finding.

LinkedIn founder and Greylock investor Reid Hoffman counts among his friends Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and also celebrities and some of theUnited States' most powerful Democrats.

In a recent interview for Business Insider's podcast "Success! How I Did It," Hoffman explained how building meaningful relationships with people have made him one of the most influential people in Silicon Valley.

His 2014 book "The Alliance," cowritten with entrepreneurs Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh, is a career and management guide that demonstrates why networking is essential for the success of both individuals and the companies they work for.

Hoffman and Casnocha sent us their presentation on "network intelligence," explaining why managers should create a culture that promotes connections both among their own employees and with a wide variety of external contacts.

David Hain's insight:

Networking - we all have to do it, many of us are full of reluctance and trepidation. Here's some of the best advice I have come across...

We have all heard the cliche: Nice guys finish last. The idea behind the saying is that good deeds go unnoticed and you have to be selfish to succeed. After all, there are two kinds of people: a nice person and a selfish person.A nice person is kind and selfless. They are givers who are willing to help others and don’t mind helping without giving something in return. But a selfish person is a taker. They only think of themselves and aim to get more through doing less.While a selfish person seems to be the one more people hate, “nice guys finish last” is still a common belief. So can nice guys actually finish first?

There are mountains of research to support how important social ties are for well-being. Feeling connected to others gives meaning and purpose to all of our lives. Social ties can increase longevity, reduce stress, and even boost our immune system. By dedicating specific time to “hygge” we can create a safe space for families and friends to be together without stress. However, it takes everyone wanting this and working together to achieve it.

Researchers also find that Denmark’s egalitarianism plays an important role. For example, a 2009 study by Robert Biswas-Diener and colleagues found that while rich Americans and Danes were equally happy, what really made the difference is that low-income Danes were much, much happier than their American counterparts. This is consistent with findings that high levels of equality translate into happier societies. Unsurprisingly, egalitarianism is also a core value of hygge, according to anthropologists. In this way, perhaps, the rules governing private life in Denmark translate into the kind of public gains cited by Bernie Sanders.

David Hain's insight:

Someone gave me "The Little Book of Hygge" for Christmas". Sounds easy, but like most 'secrets' it needs some structure, understanding ands context to be meaningful!

The technology-driven world in which we live is a world filled with promise but also challenges. Cars that drive themselves, machines that read X-rays, and algorithms that respond to customer-service inquiries are all manifestations of powerful new forms of automation. Yet even as these technologies increase productivity and improve our lives, their use will substitute for some work activities humans currently perform—a development that has sparked much public concern.

Building on our January 2017 report on automation, McKinsey Global Institute’s latest report, Jobs lost, jobs gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation (PDF–5MB), assesses the number and types of jobs that might be created under different scenarios through 2030 and compares that to the jobs that could be lost to automation.

The results reveal a rich mosaic of potential shifts in occupations in the years ahead, with important implications for workforce skills and wages. Our key finding is that while there may be enough work to maintain full employment to 2030 under most scenarios, the transitions will be very challenging—matching or even exceeding the scale of shifts out of agriculture and manufacturing we have seen in the past.

David Hain's insight:

Future workforce implications - looks like a new industrial shift is afoot!

Let’s assume that you think you have a choice of eight paths to follow (all pre-defined paths, of course). And let’s assume that you can’t see any real purpose in any of the eight. THEN— and here is the essence of all I’ve said— you MUST FIND A NINTH PATH.

Naturally, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. You’ve lived a relatively narrow life, a vertical rather than a horizontal existence. So it isn’t any too difficult to understand why you seem to feel the way you do. But a man who procrastinates in his CHOOSING will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.

A Deloitte survey (sponsored by Facebook) asked C-suite executives for their perspectives on the future of work. Their responses reveal six themes about the future workplace—and six lessons to help leaders ease the transition.

David Hain's insight:

Fascinating study of the work of the future and how to survive. Turns out, unsurprisingly, that culture is key!

Not responding to your associates or a lack of transparency is a sign you are out of touch, Todays workforce requires more ... review the steps to a future workplace and compare that to the environment you deliver everyday... There is something here for every leader at every level. Nice work #deloitte #offthebenchleadership #adpelefy18 #hellowork #workhappy

Dan Gilbert, author of "Stumbling on Happiness," challenges the idea that we’ll be miserable if we don’t get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned.

This was part of a PhD course I took. Dan Gilbert's work is fascinating. It is not just about being happy. It recognizes that we will be unhappy and what that means. How do we overcome trauma and challenging situations?

Stress can make us better human beings. But it also it can also hamper our judgement. That’s the conclusion of an experiment conducted by scientists at the University of Vienna.The study, published in the journal Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, looked at what happens in the brain when people who are highly stressed try to empathize with others.It found that they showed increased empathy towards others and wanted to help them more, but that stress skewed their judgement.

David Hain's insight:

Make friends with stress, but not best friends - beware it may be playing you false!

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